THE BBC shrugged off the loss of The Great British Bake Off in 2017 to once again broadcast the most-watched TV programme of the year – with a little help from a walrus mother and her pup.

A chart-topping 14 million people saw episode one of the wildlife series Blue Planet II, which included dramatic footage of walruses fighting to find a home, along with dazzling scenes of surfing dolphins and a sex-changing fish.

The ratings were nearly two million down on the most-watched programme of 2016, when 15.9 million saw Candice Brown win the final of Bake Off.

But it was enough for the BBC to hold on to its title as the home of the biggest TV audience of the year.

Second place also went to the BBC, thanks to the 13 million people who watched the final of Strictly Come Dancing.

Close behind in third place was ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, which attracted an audience of 12.7 million for its launch episode.